“Everything you were saying, it was, totally, 100 percent accurate,” she tells Dr. Phil during a follow-up interview airing on Thursday. “I had to come to terms with that was my life. At the time, I thought I had control over my life. Just by you standing up to me and kind of shoving in my face the reality of my situation, it was, like, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is my life.’”

When Jessi first appeared on Dr. Phil, her parents said she had a severe addiction to alcohol and was bulimic, and that her destructive choices were tearing apart their family. Jessi bragged about getting away with drinking at the preschool where she worked, and admitted that she had driven drunk with her toddler son in the car.

Now, three years later, Jessi says she has been sober for a little over two years, and her eating disorder is under control.

“I know how to cope. I know what I need to do to make better decisions, and I do,” she tells Dr. Phil.

Hear more of Jessi’s update in the video above, including how she hopes to help other addicts in the future. And on Thursday’s episode of Dr. Phil, hear more surprising updates on previous guests. Check here to see where you can watch.